Christian's 1st Birthday Picture :)

February 18th is a huge day for us! It is a day to dance and sing and cry and celebrate the birth of a miracle child, our miracle child! Christian came into the world on that day in 2011, and boy did he ever make an impact! The world will never be the same since his first breath! I may be guilty of going a little overboard with Christian's birthday, but that is why! I am celebrating more than just a birth, I am celebrating a miracle! :)

Wow!!! This time last year, I was an emotional mess because my sweet little boy, who doctors predicted might not even live, was turning one! Can you imagine how emotional I am this year? That sweet little boy is now a toddler, he has a beautiful little brother on the way, and I am very pregnant! In other words, please expect the water works at his party this year!!!! :)

This year, just like last, we celebrate so many accomplishments, milestones, and joyous times! Christian learned to crawl at 14 months, he has learned to say many, many words, he usually meets all of his goals in his therapies every 2 months, and he makes his mommy and daddy so so so proud! Christian has traveled to 8 states in the second year of his life. We have been to North Carolina (on a lay over), Virginia (to shoot a pro-life video), to Ohio (to visit Nationwide Children's Hospital), Florida (for vacation), Alabama (on our way to Florida for Vacation), New Orleans (on a lay over), Arizona (on a lay over), and California (for the West Coast Walk for Life). He gets around doesn't he?!?! :)

And let's not forget that when Christian was 15 months old, his YouTube video went viral and spread across the world, making him a little celebrity, and gaining us so many new and amazing friends!

What a year it has been! Can you imagine if I had not chosen life for him, what this last year could've been like? This blog would not exist, and I wouldn't be telling you about Christian's 2nd birthday and all he's done this year. Many of you reading this wouldn't even know I exist. I would not have met so many of you and have so many amazing friendships that I didn't have last year. But most of all, I would not know the absolute purest joy and love in my life, my sweet Christian. :)

Everyone is asking about his birthday this year and what you can do for him. So, I have a lot of ideas that I wanted to share with you all, which is why I am putting it in blog form!

Of course, we have an Amazon wishlist where you can always find things that Christian would enjoy or that we need. The link is here: http://amzn.com/w/1K7T6QF0UOFGV
Of course, that list does not have a ton of stuff on it, because I try to be realistic and not ask for things we don't need.

Secondly, if you find that the list just doesn't have what you'd like to send, we welcome any gifts and we appreciate them so very much! I can't think of a single thing we've ever received that we didn't enjoy! If you would like to ask me about a present before you buy it just to make sure we don't already have it, please feel free to email me at laceybuchanan@gmail.com. Also, if you send me an email when you are ready to send a gift, I will happily tell you our address to send it to. Our address is not private by any means and we will give it out for mailing purposes, but I do try not to post it in public forums. :)

Thirdly, if you prefer not to send a gift, but would still like to do something, my friends Mary, Candice, and Marisa are working VERY VERY hard in actively running the GiveForward website and it's fundraising campaign to help raise money for Christian's medical expenses that his insurance is refusing to pay for. I can assure you that every penny that is sent there gets sent to us. Mary, Candice, and Marisa get nothing for doing this except my undying gratitude and love! They are amazing! The link for that is here: http://www.giveforward.com/laceyampchristianbuchanan






I have some more exciting news for anyone who may have already done these things in the past or is looking for another opportunity to give for Christian's birthday. Many of you have heard about Special Kids, where Christian receives all but one of his therapies and where he goes for daycare (aka nursing care) twice a week while I'm at my doctor's appointments, etc. They are totally non profit and run on love from others. They help kids with all kinds of special needs in all walks of life to overcome obstacles that they face. We love Special Kids with a passion in case you can't tell! They have been so so good to us and they love Christian and do so much for him that I couldn't do alone!

So, they have started a campaign for the month of February called "Do it For Love" with Valentines coming up and all.  So I though it would be neat to celebrate the Do it For Love Campaign to coincide with Christian's birthday and anyone who wanted to could give to Special Kids in honor of Christian during his birthday month! There are several things you could do!

If you are local, please consider signing up for the Special Kids Race, and running for Team Christian! We will be there this year in full force, wearing our Super C shirts! The race is a fundraiser that Special Kids puts on every year. Runners (and walkers) from all over come and join in the 15k, 5k, or 1 mile fun run! We will be doing the 1 mile fun run again this year considering I will be 8 months pregnant! :) The cost of the race is minimal, but the impact you can make by participating is huge! And Christian benefits from every penny that Special Kids raises! You can sign up for Team Christian and the Special Kids Race at www.specialkidsrace.org

If you are not local and can't come run with us, but are still interested in helping Team Christian reach it's fundraising goal for the race this year, you can donate directly to Special Kids at our fundraising page also known as our "impact page" because we are impacting Special Kids in such a positive way! If you donate here, the money goes straight to Special Kids, and it counts toward Team Christian's fundraising goal! You can check out our impact page and donate here: https://impactspecialkids.com/fundraiser/team-christian12

Another way that you can help Special Kids if these first two options don't tickle your fancy, Special Kids has started an Amazon wishlist as well. It is full of things that they need in their therapies and nursing to help the kids be all they can be and get the best care possible. If you would like to browse their wishlist, please visit here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/2XMJVD5Z8RFTS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_ws_Beearb0R3NG8Q_wb
And if you see something that you feel compelled to send them, please do! Anything purchased on that list will go directly to Special Kids and will be used for the kids! It is very possible that some of what is purchased on this list will be used for Christian!

So, I hope I have given you all some great ideas about Christian's birthday and ways that you can get involved! Please feel free to email me if you have other ideas or questions about his birthday!

Also, for anyone who is close enough to attend his actual party, here is the Online invitation! We would LOVE to have you join us!!!  https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/330152270419702/